Ballad of the Technopath (Re-write)
by FutureErotic
Summary: Machines can talk to her and electricity runs through her, Freyja is not entirely normal. This makes her perfect for the new Avengers team, but how will she handle herself when faced with Loki and his disdain for all things human...WARNING MATURE AUDIENCE (This is a re-write of the same story under same name)
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone, first of all I would like to say sorry if you thought this was an update (rest assured the first 15,000 words of my new Loki story will soon be posted). Yes I am re-writing and yes I would appreciate reviews on the new and hopefully improved story. **

**I would like to point out that I do not in any way own the Marvel universe, if I did I would have strapped Tom Hiddleston to my bed long ago… I do own Freyja though, but she is firmly Loki's to strap to his bed :D **

**Xoxo **

**Future **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello ladies and gentlemen (hopefully not boys and girls, because this is a mature story… so go play Skyrim or something), this is the re-write of my quite popular Loki and Freyja story. I am doing this because I believe that I made some mistakes in the storyline, not to mention I love these characters and want to do them proper justice. I apologise for any who enjoy the old story (much will stay the same) but hope you enjoy the new one. **

The man across from me raised his eyebrow over his one good eye. I knew what he was thinking; it was what most everybody thought. They all thought me strange, not that I blamed them. Now at eighteen years of age, I had not only already graduated university with a Bachelor of Information Technology and Science, I had done it by the time I was fourteen. Which coincidentally was the same time SHIELD recruited me into their Australian branch, I was the computer chick. Sadly that meant I still lacked severally in socially skills, somehow suffering from verbal diarrhea AND pathological shyness. My weirdness tended to show itself in the way I dressed. I preferred too large t-shirts with the words 'Ask me to fix your computer, seriously?!' and 'I could destroy the world… But I'd rather play Halo'.

The one eyed man cleared his throat, and I jerked back to reality. It took me a second to realize what he was upset about, and then the light above us started flickering on and off.

"Oh… Sorry…" My finger had been tapping against the metal table, causing a rippling effect.

One eye cleared his throat and shifted in his chair, he was uncomfortable around me. "Miss Sold, I must ask you to refrain from damaging this building." He looked up at the light, "and it's fixtures."

My fingers still twitched, feeling the electricity in the air and wanting to 'play' with it, but I nodded anyway.

"Very good." He looked down at a file in his hands, my file I presumed. "Now, you are Freyja Elizabeth Sold, eighteen years of age and from Australia. Have you any idea why I am having you relocated?"

I shook my head, eyes darting around the dull interrogation style room.

"It's because you are a Technopath."

_Duh_

"And because the US requires your help." This made me pay attention, I had assumed they wanted me to fix their super computers or something, not actually help them.

"I—I don't understand?"

"Have you ever heard of the Norse Gods?" He asked.

"Yes," my mind started relaying information to him instinctively, 'The Norse Gods, typically separated into the Aesir and the Vanir—"

He stopped me before I could get too far ahead. "Yes and the Jotnar, I remember my history classes as well, Miss Sold."

Turning bright red I cursed my mouth, it always had to say the answer.

"Well turns out the Norse Gods are real, and recently one of them stole this from a highly guarded SHIELD base."

As my mind tried to wrap itself around 'the Norse Gods are real', the man placed a tablet in front of me. On it was something unlike I had ever seen before, a self-sustaining glowing blue cube.

_Pretty_

Without even having to see it in person, I could sense something was off about it, it didn't flow right.

"What's wrong with it?" Going into Geek mode I flicked through the other images. The man didn't answer; he was looking at me with surprise though.

"You can tell it's different."

Of course I could, the entire way the light flowed across it was wrong. The way I saw most energy was small particles flowing clockwise across any surface, they never changed direction or speed. Whatever the cube was, it was flowing without any apparent pattern.

"It's alien." I whispered the words, not meaning for them to be heard.

The man stiffened in his chair; out of the corner of my eye I saw his hand move slightly. Instantly I forgot the cube and seized the electrical currents in the air, enough to defend myself if need be.

"How do you know that it is alien?" He didn't relax his hand from where I knew it was on his gun, and I didn't stop pulling in more energy.

"I can sense energy patterns; this one is unlike anything I have seen before." He nodded and relaxed at my answer, I followed suit.

"It's called the Tesseract. It was fished out of the ocean back in the forties and we have been using it to experiment with producing fully self-sufficient energy." I smiled at that, it was something I understood. "It was stolen by a God named Loki."

He handed me a holo-chip, knowing that I wouldn't need a projector to see it. Touching it with the tip of my finger, I jumped slightly in my chair when a man's face appeared in front of me.

The high cheekbones and long face was enough for me to know he was thin without seeing his body; strangely enough it was his lips that sent warning bells off in my head. They were thin and pinched into a sneer; coupled with his icy green eyes I knew he was dangerous.

"What does he want with it?"

"We don't know yet, but if this guy is involved then it won't be anything good."

Frowning at the thought of this Loki 'God' having such power, as it was obvious that the Tesseract was power in its purest form, I couldn't help but wonder why they would need me. I didn't wonder for long.

"We need you to help us understand it once it is recovered, perhaps even destroy it should Loki's power overwhelm us."

Something in me shuddered at this, somehow knowing instinctively that I wouldn't survive that much energy flowing through me.

"How are you going to find it? Something like this would only give out very small signals." They would need an expert in Gamma radiation to find this masterpiece, and the only one who knew enough about them would be…"

"Bruce Banner has agreed to come on board and assist."

_Are they insane?!_

"I did my graduate paper on Banner's theories." Fury smiled and opened his mouth, no doubt to explain that I could meet the man. But he had the wrong idea; Banner and what he could become terrified me. I have never been able to handle a lot of people or loud noises. Both of which seemed to follow Banner. "I can't... I won't work with Mr Banner. I saw what he did to Manhattan; I know he was trying to save us in the end, but he frightens me too much."

"Mr Banner will be contained should he lose control, Miss Sold. Furthermore you are an agent of SHIELD, and able to protect yourself better than most."

I shook my head, shivering slightly in memory. "Last time I 'protected' myself; I burnt a house down and killed three people."

"Miss Sold, those men who tried to hurt you..." He trailed off before sighing and rubbing his eye. "We are well aware what happened last time you protected yourself, and will endeavour to ensure that you will not have to again."

I realized where this was going, "I don't really have a choice do I?"

"No you do not." He stood and I copied, not wanting the imposing man to stand above me. "Your World needs you, Miss Sold. Welcome to active duty for SHIELD, I am Director Fury and you best be prepared for one hell of a battle."

…

It didn't take me very long to pack. After Director Fury let me go, I was immediately driven to my sad one bedroom apartment to 'leave again as soon as possible'. Sadly the one thing that I wanted to bring, I couldn't. Thor was a lovable ball of blond fur; I had found her as a kitten being tormented by some teenagers. It didn't take me long to rescue her from the mock 'gang', ever since then we have been inseparable. That was five years ago, long before the actual God of Thunder started appearing on the TV screen in New Mexico.

At this second I was sitting on the couch, my blond blob sitting firmly on my lap and purring up a storm.

"I'm sorry baby; I can't bring you to America with me. For one, you wouldn't survive the flight in my suitcase." Before I could finish, Thor did her adorable yawn with a small squeak. That made up my mind. Moving her carefully off my lap I pulled out my cell. Technically Fury hadn't given me his number, but then again I was doing him a favour by not trying to run away. My eyes closed and I concentrated on Fury; I didn't really need his name, just the memory of his face and my phone does the rest. The small beep signified its completion, for the sake of courtesy I sent a small 'thank you' mind message. I liked to think the machines had feelings; it made me less lonely.

Nick Fury's number was right there. I weighed my options and clicked 'call'. It didn't buzz for even a second before it was picked up.

"Whoever this is we are tracing the call."

"Wait—no—I mean—" Flustered I glanced at Thor for help, who just stared back with her evil blue eyes.

"God damn it. Freyja is that you?" I nodded and then remembered this was a phone call.

"Yes..."

"Cancel the trace; I don't care if it's already done." I heard some bickering. "Look Stark I get that you're excited, but you can't just—" there was a slight shift in the mobile noise and I knew that somebody had hacked into the conversation. There was no question of whom.

"So you're the little technobug." I smiled, amused by the little nickname. "Ah I can hear her smiling, Fury. Guess I already win the favourites award. But let's face it; you could have been a bit cuddlier."

"Could I please talk to Mr Fury?" I felt weird talking to a billionaire playboy, not because he was intimidating but because he was a person other than my professors or work colleagues.

"Wow, she's polite. See if everyone was this nice to me, this would be what I like to call a 'happy work environment'." There was another noise and I knew Stark was gone.

"I apologise for that Miss Sold, how may I help you? I presume you must have a good reason for hacking into a phone which doesn't technically exist." I froze and looked at Thor. _Yup, good reason_.

"I want to bring my cat."

Silence.

"Your cat." I could hear somebody laughing in the background. _Stark_. Fury sighed. "Would it make you more comfortable?"

I jumped at the opportunity. "Yes."

"Fine then, bring your cat. I will see you in two hours, Miss Sold. Please don't be late." Before I could thank him the tone went dead. It was nice to know I wasn't the only one with bad social skills.

Looking down at Thor I crept over to my wardrobe and grabbed out my cat carrier. It was like she could smell it; the second I opened the tiny door Thor jumped up and hid under the bed. Sighing I looked at my watch and set to work, knowing I would need every second to get this kitty in the carrier.

…

Two and a half hours later I finally arrived at the airport. Having spent the entire time fishing for Thor, I was covered in small scratches and exhausted.

As I approached the obviously private plane I noticed a man besides Fury, as I got closer I realized that it could only be Tony Stark. His perfectly made suit and goatee being the giveaways. That and I could literally see the bright blue Arch-Reactor in his chest.

Breathing deep I forced myself to continue walking. The billionaire literally owned the only piece of electrical equipment that I couldn't study; everything else even remotely connected to an outer hard drive I could gain access to instantly.

Stark seemed to have some sort of artificial intelligence in his software, and the one terrifying time it had spoken through my speakers, it seemed to be English.

"Ah, so you're the little hacker."

Starks words horrified me; I halted mid-step and contemplated running away. It didn't look like he was about to sprout a metal suit and chase me. Stark seemed to sense my need to run and quickly removed his glasses and held out his hands in a non-threatening manner.

"Hey, I'm not about to report you. If Jarvis had sensed a threat he would have done it already."

"So Jarvis was the one who spoke to me?" Stark seemed surprised for a second.

"What did he say? Jarvis promised to never talk to strangers." Smiling at his playful tone I relaxed my stance and passed the captured Thor to a model-like air hostess.

"He asked me my name and why I was looking where I shouldn't."

Fury made an annoyed noise next to us, and motioned for me to walk up into the plane, seemed like he had noticed that I was late. Slightly hesitant I took small steps, but relaxed instantly when I felt the machine beneath my feet; like most things it ran with electricity and computers. I sent it a quick _hello_, and _please don't crash_.

The voice of Jarvis actually answered, making me nearly fall down the steps.

"Do not worry, Miss Sold. This plane is made of the safest materials and the chances of it crashing are less than 99.999%. And hello to you as well, Miss." Tony smiled wildly and if Fury hadn't restrained him I had a feeling he might have hugged me.

"You can talk to Jarvis through your mind—Ah… your, ah… ability?" His hands were moving wildly as we entered the plane and took our seats.

"Yes." I hid my eyes with my bangs, an old trick. It allowed me to view the area around me without being seen, and I had to say I was impressed. The entire inside of Stark's private jet was perfectly shaped and centred to give off a more open feel, which was probably important to a man who spent his time flying around in a suit of armour.

"Wow, just wow. What else can you do? I mean, can you tell any machine to do what you want?"

I sighed and looked at the ground; the best way to describe it was the way I used to explain it to my family.

"Well, it's not so much that I tell them, it's more I ask and they know what to do. I mean, as long as it is connected to something hooked into the hub." Stark looked confused.

"Hub?"

"Oh it's… ah… what I call the entire," I motioned a big circle with my arms and hands, "technical world."

"So that means that you could, say, look up foreign secrets and even American arms codes." I nodded slowly, not liking where this was going. Fury suddenly looked interested in our conversation.

The plane started making preparations to leave; I could sense Jarvis in the machine ensuring everything was done correctly and safely. I felt much better about being so high up knowing he was there to keep watch.

"I would never do that. I don't want to hurt anybody." Fiddling with my fingers I decided to look out the window, better that then seeing worried looks between Stark and Fury.

"Hey." A hand touched mine, instinctively I jilted it back. Stark looked surprised for a second and then a little angry, but not at me. Obviously Fury had told him about what happened to me, how and why I hated to be touched. "Look Freyja, we don't think that you're a threat. I mean, obviously you would never willingly harm a fly, or that's my belief anyway. But somebody could force you to find things for them; it's just a little worrying to know that you could find out such top level secrets."

I thought for a second then remembered something, finally looking Stark in the face and smiled. He blinked in shock for a moment and then returned it, like I knew he would.

"I can't reach your Ironman suit... because of Jarvis." I could tell I had pleased them both and sensed I had just passed a test. I was willing to bet that Jarvis or a version of him already monitored most top secret codes, and they had to find out where I stood. I didn't mind; if there was one thing I understood it was manipulating something.

"Excellent, now that Fury's little test is over... Drinks? You do drink, right Freyja?" I shook my head no, but Stark didn't seem surprised. "Well I'll teach you, it's really very simple." Despite myself I laughed, there was something so likable about him.

…

Two hours later I was well and truly feeling tipsy, to my shock... I loved it.

"So tell me Freyja, how does an attractive young lady like you end up with abilities like yours? Were you dropped into supersonic goo as a child, injected with magical mechanical serum, or were you just lucky?" I smiled lightly at the question. I may be enjoying this buzz but I wasn't about to blab out all my secrets. Well, maybe this once.

"My dad told me I was born with it." I noticed the slight rise in Fury's big bald head; obviously something was wrong with my version of events, but it was all I knew. "The technopath side of it anyway. The brains I got off of dad."

"What about your mother?"

My throat thickened a bit, like it always did when mentioning mum; the guilt was overwhelming. "She died giving birth to me; ironically I killed both my parents."

"Stark, she's had enough."

Tony sighed; he told me to stop calling him Mr Stark awhile back. "Probably right. But hey, nice to know I can outdrink an eighteen year old Australian." Smiling again I rested my head against the window. I would just shut my eyes for a second…

**Ok re-make chapter one complete, as it goes further along the differences will become more apparent. **

**Xoxo**

**Future**


	3. Chapter 3

Several extremely fast hours later, we had somehow made it to America in the time it would usually take to fly from Melbourne to Perth. I wasn't overly shocked; considering the Plane obviously belonged to Stark (the stripper pole in the corner gave it away).

As we stepped off the plane, an Air Hostess handed me my cat carrier. Almost immediately Thor finished the hole he had been biting, and shot into my arms. The Hostess gave of a small scream, glaring at me before she stormed away.

"Bad Thor, what did you do to that poor lady?" Sensing the amusement in my voice, Thor started purring.

Tony strutted down the plane stairs, followed by Fury. He gave one look at Thor and laughed. I was surprised when she actually let Tony pet her, before taking a small swipe.

"Is that a cat, or a lion?" I glared up at Tony, wanting to defend my only friend. "Kidding! Jeesh, what is it with crazy cat ladies."

Most might have thought that Tony was insulting them, but I could hear the now teasing note.

Leaning down I kissed the top of my 'Lions' head, "her name is Thor."

Tony started gwarfing loudly, actually holding onto Fury's shoulder for support. The man himself even cracked a smile.

Shrugging Tony's hand off, Fury started walking. I followed because it was all I knew to do. It took me a second to realize that we had landed on a military ship of some sort; behind us Tony's plane took off again. Hunching down for a second, I touched my palm to the landing pad. Beneath me I could feel miles of electrical currents, each set to do certain things. One thing was very clear though, this ship wasn't actually a ship.

"It's called the Helicarrier," said a feminine voice next to me.

My hand darted off the pad like it was on fire, there were several new people staring at my hunched down position. I froze, the 'good ole' deer in headlights instinct hitting in. The woman who spoke was nothing short of striking, with bright red hair and a figure that would have made Marilyn Monroe weep in envy. She made me feel like a piece of unmoulded dough, I didn't mind though, the feeling was familiar. A tall blond man offered me his hand; I winced uncomfortably and declined it.

"Sorry…Don't like to be touched."

He didn't seem at all offended, which was strange. He merely smiled and tucked his hands into his tan slacks, I would have had to be blind not to notice the way his chest muscles stretched with the movement. Getting myself up—finally—I nodded politely at the newcomers. A strange vibe suddenly shot up my spine, leaving shivers in its wake. Turning I regarded the final man staring at me. He was short, or at least shorter than the blond man and Tony. I immediately knew that this was Bruce Banner, I could feel the radiation flooding through him from meters away. And beneath it all I could sense the monster, the creature that filled me with such fear.

"Best come inside now, Agents. It's about to get difficult to breath up here."

Fury was right—I drew my gaze from Banners—It would be very difficult to breath while here.

…

"Your rooms are as close to your lab as possible," said an Agent that Fury directed me towards, introducing himself as Coulson soon after. "To avoid as much contact towards people as possible."

As he spoke, we walked through the throngs of busy agents. I was doing everything in my power to act normal, like anybody else just doing my job, but anybody looking would have noticed the sheen of sweat on my forehead. In my arms, Thor hissed at everybody who passed. I had no doubt in my mind that she would be slashing people had I not a strong grip on her.

Finally we reached my assigned room, I could tell because Tony had put a '_Technopath is close to sociopath… So do not disturb_' sign. I smirked slowly at this; it would probably discourage anybody keen to get a look at the resident freak.

Coulson didn't show any reaction to the sign, apparently used to Tony's eccentric personality.

"Miss Sold, the door requires your retina sca—"

I touched the tip of my finger to the door, opening it instantly. Ignoring Coulson's look, I stepped inside. The room looked to have been made specifically for two people, but had been quickly modified for me. There was a double bed, but I could see the indentations on the carpet where there had previously been two single beds. There were two desks and two wardrobes; all painted a pale blue to contrast with the white walls. It was a better room than what I had expected. My few bags were stacked on the bed, with kitty litter box and feeding bowels in the corner.

"When you were sleeping, Stark took it under his wing to make this place acceptable for you. His CO, Miss Pepper Pots, arranged a new wardrobe for you and arranged for any cat related requirements." Coulson made to close the door behind him. "One more thing; because of the threat Loki poses, we will require you to begin working with our files on the Tesseract immediately. A computer linking you to all SHIELD information will be brought in a few hours."

"No need," I didn't bother mincing words.

"Meaning?"

Smiling I released Thor and grabbed my laptop bag, taking out the precious cargo. I had built it from scratch, along with the containing technology. It was faster than any technology SHIELD could have, the only thing matching it was Jarvis.

Coulson looked taken aback for a second, and then smiled. "Very well, Miss Sold. Please keep in mind that you will have to visit the lab eventually, even if only to meet the other members of your team."

"Oh, I'm not on the 'team'. I'm just the technology expert."

Rather than reply he smiled, and simply shut the door.

…

I had been sifting through all the information on the Tesseract that I could find, even the hidden files, but nothing really stood out in it for me. I knew then that I would have to see it in person, otherwise there was no way I could learn how to make it work, or ask it to show me how it works. Finally, after showering twice and changing into some comfortable jeans and a tank top, I decided to visit the other Avengers.

Poking my head out the door I didn't encounter any people so I quickly locked it and fast walked to the lab, only to halt at the door and backtrack. I knew that he had seen me, but I wasn't quite ready to face him.

"You know I can hear you breathing, right?" Banner's voice seemed almost kind, but then I remembered the secret footage I had watched and didn't dare answer. "Fury told me that you're scared of me. It's ok, most people are."

This struck a chord; people used to fear me, especially when the police had questioned me about the fire. They had looked at me with hatred and fear when I told them what had happened. Shaking my head I turned the corner to face Banner. He was leaning against one of the lab tables and still looked like an average guy. Nothing about him stood out, but I could still feel it; the ship screaming in fear.

"It's scared of you." I murmured.

Banner looked amused for a second, "What is?"

"The ship, it's screaming. Th... That and the fact I saw what you... your other side can do."

He chuckled. "Thanks for not calling it the Hulk."

I shrugged in understanding. Something behind him was flashing. "Are you using gamma relays to search for the Tesseract?"

"You know about gamma." This time I smiled.

"I haven't looked into gamma, not after I found out what it did to you." I clamped a hand over my mouth. "Sorry."

"Don't be, it's nice not having somebody stepping on egg shells around me." His head tilted and hand came out, but I shrunk away.

He looked so dejected I couldn't help but explain. "It isn't you; I really can't stand people touching me."

"Must be lonely..." I knew he knew what I felt like; obviously Banner wouldn't let himself get close to anyone.

"My name is Freyja Sold." I waved.

Smiling Banner waved back, "Bruce Banner."

Our peaceful moment was ruined by somebody talking into Bruce's ear piece; I wasn't too shocked that I didn't get one. He looked worried for a second, but agreed with whatever the other person was saying.

"We—well you need to get to the bridge."

"What? Why?"

Smiling at the irony, Banner answered. "They're sending you out."

_What? No_.

"Apparently I am too much of a risk, and it would take too long for me to load up my equipment. The boss man wants you to see if you can sense the specific energy signature of the Tesseract... Sorry."

Biting back my fear I nodded, always knowing that I would eventually be sent out into the field, just not this soon… Bidding Bruce goodbye, I linked in with the ship's computer to sense where the Bridge was. It was easy to find, every single piece of equipment in the place ran through the room in some way. Probably not the smartest way to go about building a multi-billion dollar invisible ship; I would have linked it all into categories rather than all over the place.

I stumbled into the room itself, briefly admiring all the nicely dressed SHIELD agents.

"Ah Miss Sold, welcome to the bridge. I assume Banner told you about what we require?" Asked Fury; he was standing in the middle of the room like a king.

Although feeling queasy I nodded. The movement didn't help my nerves… or queasiness for that matter.

"Good. I apologise for this, but we just got a hit on Loki and need to move quickly. You have what we need without having to load up half of Banners lab."

"Y—yes…" I looked over the other Avengers, the blond man from before had to be Captain America, whereas the red headed woman was clearly Black Widow.

"Good." Fury turned to Captain America AKA Steve Rogers. "We need you ready now, Captain."

"Already on it, sir." Roger's voice sounded strong; I had never felt so out of place before. I would take being twelve and in a second year university course over this any day.

"Miss Sold?" A finger tapped my shoulder. Lurching back I faced who I now knew to be the Black Widow, AKA Natasha Romanoff. "Apologies. My name is Natasha, and I am to show you to the Quinjet."

I followed her out of the room. Not knowing how to talk to Natasha I spent it in silence, the entire time going over possible conversations for the next time we find ourselves alone. So far I had asking her how she killed people, and if she could teach me to fight like I had seen her do so in the videos. As she was instructed she brought me to the Quinjet; it was currently awaiting us before ascending to the deck. No sooner had I thought about the chill out there than had Natasha handed me a thick S.H.I.E.L.D.. jacket. Thanking her I took it, waiting until it was actually cold to don it.

"You will eventually be given a suit like mine." She smiled at the horrified look in my eyes, "It will fit fine."

Inside the Jet I was shocked to see Captain America already decked out in his spandex and waiting for us, while behind me Natasha threw off her outer clothes to reveal her skin tight cat womanish suit. The Captain's eyes made a quick once over on her, I felt instantly tiny. Thankfully he was a gentleman first. When I seated myself, Steve introduced himself.

"Steve Rogers, Ma'am." He put his hand out in habit, before remembering the last time he tried to touch my hand. He retracted it with a smile.

"Freyja Sold." Those were the only words I muttered on the whole trip.

…

For the duration of the flight I felt softly through the jet's parts, learning it slowly. Just encase I ever decided to make a Quinjet, I would rather not blow up in mid-air. Sadly as I was about to move from the computer system to the engine, Steve spoke up.

"Can you sense anything yet?" I was so shocked with the intrusion in my thoughts I actually answered.

"What?" Steve smiled; he was apparently a nice guy and forgave me for my earlier unintended rudeness with the not touching.

"The Tesseract, can you sense it? We're nearing Stuttgart."

Closing my eyes I reached out slightly, and fell back. Holding my head I moaned, pain aching through every inch of it. Thankfully it only lasted for a second. I realized once I regained control of my mind that Steve was sitting in front of me practically holding me up, and Natasha had a gun pointed at me. They were both speaking.

"What was that?"

That was the easiest to answer, shrugging Steve's arms off I stood, barely. "It was evil. Is the Tesseract from a race of hostile aliens?" I knew my question sounded stupid, but Natasha took it seriously.

"We are not entirely sure. We believe it to be Asgardian." I knew what that was only for reading everybody's' files twice. The one named Thor was from Asgard... So was Loki.

"Are you certain it was the Tesseract? Could something else have sent off that sort of signature?" She asked, holstering her gun.

I shuddered, still remembering the pain and shook my head no. Natasha nodded and sat back in her seat, as did Steve when the pilot announced that we were nearly there.

I could literally still feel the power of that energy source; it was directly below us. Hesitant I told Steve and he ordered the pilot to let him out here; Natasha moved to take over the cockpit. Meanwhile I was watching in horror as Steve literally jumped out of the plane, and in all the stress the door wasn't closed behind him. I could see the close button clearly. Undoing my safety belt I figured I could at least help with that. Nearing the edge of the seats I reached for the button. Literally centimetres away, I left my death grip on the metal sides of the jet…

I was thrown to the side of the jet, slamming painfully against the metal hull. Beneath us I could feel a strange power building, and then it was released.

I barely had time to scream, "Watch out!" Before the momentum of Natasha avoiding whatever the energy was, threw me out the open latch.

There were several seconds of free-fall, and then the sickening crunch and pain of my back hitting something hard.

_Oh god, what if I broke my back!? _

Like any normal person, I immediately panicked and moved my neck. Thankfully it didn't hurt too much, the turn however brought me back to the reason I had fallen from a flying Quinjet. Steve was literally getting the blue beaten out of him by some guy wearing horns.

_Ok, definitely concussed… _

People were rushing all around my body, it was only when one of them stepped on my hand and I let out a shriek that Steve lost total concentration. The man who still had his back to me lifted a glowing blue staff into the air, and slammed it down on Steve's back, he fell without a sound.

There were literally no people left in the courtyard, only the horned man and I were conscious. Still too worried I had seriously injured myself from the fall, I didn't dare move a muscle. The horned man turned and looked towards what had made the great Captain America react. My eyes met Loki's freezing ones.

_Of course it would be Loki!? Idiot. _

Squeaking slightly, I prayed for Natasha or Tony to swoop in and save me, I would take the Hulk at this point. Slowly Loki moved towards me, his boots crunching anything dead. He was close enough to me that I could see his lips curl in distaste. I suppose I was quite pathetic, lying there and waiting for death.

"You are SHIELD." It wasn't a question. "This is what Earth sends to capture a God! A second rate experiment, and a young female human." He pointed his bloody spear towards me, crimson staining the concrete beneath it.

Every single bone in my body ached, but somehow I still managed to glare. Rather than become angry or cower, Loki laughed. There was nothing kind or humorous in this laugh, it was a laugh that cut me to the bone with its mocking lilt and superior air.

"You will make a suitable sacrifice to prove my power."

He lowered his spear to my chest before I could blink, but he didn't stab me. He just touched me, but might as well have killed me for the pain it caused.

Back arching—probably snapping back into place whatever I hurt—an almost silent scream left my lips. White fire burned through me, frying every nerve ending and then repeating the punishment. The man above me was evil, no denying that. But his spear was the purest form of evil I had ever felt, it was every single bad thing anything in the universe had done. Loki removed the spear from my skin, apparently realizing quickly that whatever it had done to me was not what he wanted.

"Have you sustained any injuries to your chest, human?"

_What_?

Confused, I panted through my pain, wondering why he would ask something so foolish. He looked irritated for a second then lowered the spear in a different spot, this time my thigh. Once again I cried out and once again he removed it. The second time I had actually tried speaking to the energy, it didn't work, so I tried sucking some in and that—unsurprisingly—hurt even more.

"Must you make such an irritating noise?"

I couldn't help it, I started to laugh. Even though I knew it was the beginnings of hysteria I couldn't stop myself. Sighing in obvious annoyance, Loki leaned down and gripped the front of my shield jacket. Instantly I tried to escape his touch, escape the evil, but he just held on tighter. He lifted me up to the point where I was eye level with him. My hysteria was short lived and quickly followed by mind-numbing terror. I stared at him like a kangaroo in caught in headlights. He frowned slightly and I couldn't help notice a tiny line appear between his perfectly shaped eyebrows. Making a frustrated noise he shook me. I couldn't believe I wasn't screaming out loud that he was touching me. Honestly, I was too busy trying to figure out how to escape, or how Loki would most likely kill me.

"Why can I not read your mind, mortal?" I didn't answer. Growling in anger he moved the spear towards me again. "Tell me or I will touch this to your face."

"I—I don't know." I honestly didn't. It could be any number of things; I had literal static in my head from all my electrical and energy abilities, Loki's giant horned helmet blocked it or I had finally gone off the rails... My bet was number three.

"Very well, tell me why you scream when I try to control you." I wasn't sure what turning was, but I didn't want it done.

"I—I don't know." Loki snarled at my repeat, he tossed me back from him. My tattered jacket did nothing to stop my arms scraping against the concrete. Coughing slightly, I pushed myself up not wanting to be on my back around him again. The god of trickery directed his spear at me again, only this time I felt a familiar build-up of power. I looked into his eyes the second before he shot, there was no fear or regret in his eyes, just disinterest.

The blue light was immediately absorbed by my body. For a second everything was still, and then it exploded outward. Every cell glowed with the blue energy, and then it slammed out of me again, destroying a nearby street light.

_That should have been me_

Loki was staring at the lamp with a look of wonder, and then at me. Then he was gone.

I yelped in joy when Tony's Ironman suit slammed into the god, throwing him across the street and onto some stairs. Loki instantly snapped back and punched Ironman in the face, sending him a few feet back. For a second I wasn't sure if we would win, then Captain America joined back in the fight. He showed no trouble from his passing out, if anything it seemed to make him even more determined. A blue and red shield smacked the god back down to the stairs. The loud noise of the Quinjet finally showed its joining the fight.

_Where was it when I was being tortured?..._

Seeing that the god was under control, I slowly stood. The pain that should have resulted from Loki's spear torturing me was gone; I wasn't too surprised, my body tended to suck up energy from all around to heal itself.

The Captain grabbed Loki by the shoulder, hauling him up without opposition. Something about this scene was strange; if Loki had ploughed down the Cap without difficulty only minutes before, why was he suddenly putting up no resistance. He was a god, surly he could fight of a group of enhanced humans.

"You ok kiddo?" asked Tony, the mask flipping back from his face.

Smiling awkwardly I nodded; he smirked back and tossed me something. I caught it without thought, nearly dropping the spear when I realized what it was.

_Why isn't it hurting me now…_

I chanced a look at Loki; he was watching me hold his weapon with sheer hatred in his eyes. It took me a split second to realize that the energy in the spear came from Loki himself, the weapon being a conductor for it.

Natasha landed the Quinjet, the Captain rushing us inside before we would have to answer to the German police. To my dismay, they shoved Loki across the jet from me. I stared at the spear in my hands, but all I could feel was his evil glare. In a way I could understand why he hated me touching it, anybody who came near my laptop was immediately attacked by Thor. She was better than any guard dog, maybe Loki should invest in one…

…

"Don't be afraid to shoot Loki with that speary thing," said Tony, plonking down next to me. "Looks like those luscious black locks could use a cut."

Loki didn't even flinch at the comment, not that I expected him to. The entire time he didn't stop looking at me, his gaze going from furious to contemplative. That scared me more than anything.

"Stark, we need your help up here." Natasha's voice floated from the front of the jet.

I fought the urge to beg him to stay back here with me; the last thing I wanted was to be left alone with a pissed off god.

Tony slapped me lightly on the shoulder and went to help Natasha. I flinched at the contact, but managed not to jump up. I knew Loki had noticed the movement anyway; he was probably smirking, he seemed like a professional smirker…

"You are not worthy to touch it." Startled I looked up; the shocking coldness in his eyes forced mine down again. Then he actually laughed, "They expect one so timid to hold me at bay."

I didn't bother explaining that I was only here because I could sense his powers; even stunted as they were at the moment I could still feel something coming from him.

"Why are you not trying to escape? I can feel how powerful you are, but you're just sitting there." A glance through my bangs confirmed my guess; Loki wanted to be where he was at the moment, which meant we were all in danger.

Lunging forward he was brought up short only because of his bonds. "Do not think that a pathetic human can possibly understand who I am, nor what I plan."

A small amount of Loki's spit landed on my leg; I knew it wasn't intentional but winced anyway. Ignoring the angry God I looked for something to wipe it away with when Steve suddenly appeared next to me and handed me a handkerchief. I thanked him and quickly removed the fleck of moisture from me; it was nothing personal against the man himself, I just hated any sort of contamination.

"You really know how to annoy him," Steve said, motioning towards Loki. I glanced up and winced. If looks could kill I would literally be buried under lava right now.

"It isn't personal." I said it to Steve, but Loki obviously heard because he looked marginally less offended for a second.

"Something I was born with, I guess." Steve nodded at my lie, believing it. I knew that the God of Lies wouldn't fall for it though, so I kept my gaze deliberately away from him.

The ship started to rock suddenly. Gasping, I fumbled with my seatbelt while Steve went to the front of the ship. Outside lightening began to flash and I instantly felt something was wrong with it; it felt almost manmade.

"What's wrong? Scared of a little lightening?" Loki stiffened at the question from Tony.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows, no," the god replied, when seconds after something extremely heavy landed on the roof.

Moaning I held my head; I was getting sick of feeling alien artefacts and there was definitely one above us. Tony flipped down his mask and ignored Steve's questioning of what he was doing. The moment he opened the door a gigantic man appeared, one who could only be Thor the god of Thunder and brother to Loki. With the wind whipping around me I could barely hear, my hair was tossed from its tie.

Thor threw his hammer at Tony and grabbed Loki from his seat, but somehow the trickster slipped from his hands and appeared next to me. Screaming I kicked out, missing him entirely. The god went for the spear, so I tossed it away. It clanged around for a second, before falling out the open door of the jet.

For a second Loki and I froze, and then he gave me a very pointed look. Before I could stop him he tore off my belt and grabbed the front of my top, obviously enjoying my struggles. His teeth flashed for a moment and he pulled me in close, his breath hot in my ear.

"Tit for tat, mortal."

Then he threw me out the door.


	4. Chapter 4

The air rushed past my face, it was the strangest sensation. Through the air whizzing past my ear I could still hear the thunder all around me, falling through the clouds soaked my entire body. Screaming I instinctively put my arms up, the ground rushing ever closer. Something red flashed past my eye, wrapping around me and stopping my falling.

Sobbing I gripped my body around Tony, not even caring that I was touching somebody else.

"Hold on Freyja, I got you." I sobbed in relief at his voice. "We just have to make a quick stop off; I hate it when people take my things."

Tony rocketed through the air; the speed of the wind hitting me instantly froze the water my clothes had soaked up.

I had no warning before he literally dropped my off; I landed roughly in the dirt on my stomach. I flipped onto my back, watching as Tony flew off in another direction.

"Don't you ever die?" Loki's voice flittered through the air. Screaming slightly I scurried away from the god, every movement hurt.

Loud clanging noises broke through my silence, somewhere near a tree was felled.

_Guess they do make noise when they fall…_

Something was wrong with my brain, somehow I knew I was in serious danger but couldn't help but to notice how shiny Loki's buttons were. His thick boots thumped closer, and began circling me. Gripping my sore head, I tried to stand up. A hand shoved me back down into the dirt, hard.

"Pathetic human." He looked down in disgust.

Through my ratty hair I watched him, fighting the urge to snarl like an animal. Everything the god did was elegant, from his sneer to his picking on dirt from under his nails, it pissed me off.

"My name is Freyja." Loki laughed at this, shocking me with the whiteness of his teeth.

_Must not bite his ankle!_

"You are named after a goddess of Love and Beauty. That is very amusing." Snarling he reached down and hefted me up, his strength literally holding me up off the ground. "Don't make me laugh, I knew Freyja and she would be insulted to know you share her name."

I chose not to believe him and stared blankly at his shoulder, it was too depressing to think that all of the god's are cruel bastards. As if realizing he was holding me 'too' close, Loki let me go. Somehow landing on my feet, I darted to the side. Five steps in and I slammed into something metal, it would have tossed me to the ground hand not a freezing hand stopped me.

"You dare turn your back on a god?!" Furious, the Loki holding me shook me then flung me away.

I could sense the energy of another trickster behind me. Horrified I looked between them both; barely seeing the energy connecting them, so strong was his magic.

"Humans really are pathetic." Both Loki's spoke at once, frightening me even more. There wasn't much difference between the two Loki's, aside from the fact one looked angry and the other amused.

They both took a step forward, immediately I moved back and met… air?

Behind me the cliff dropped off; panting heavily I looked between the twins from hell and the height of the drop.

_I might live._

Smirking the Loki's stepped forward. I didn't dare move, not wanting to die and not wanting to go any closer to them.

"Most warriors at this point would be charging me, know it to be their only hope." They took another step, totally in sync. "But you aren't a warrior are you? You aren't even a healer. So tell me Freyja," they sneered at the name, "what makes you worthy of SHIELD?"

"They just… asked me"

Both Loki's laughed and shook their heads. "You cannot lie to me Freyja; I invented the lie." Something in me didn't doubt his words. "Besides, I was there when you absorbed the blast from my spear." He looked furious for a second. "The one you threw out of a moving jet."

My eyes darted to both sides, desperate for an escape. In the corner of my eye I saw Steve unhook himself from a parachute and drop into the forest; the trees all around that area were rocking like crazy. Loki absorbed the other him and followed my eyes, then smirked in a resentful way.

"It seems my brother is holding up against your mighty army."

I nodded then backtracked, something important suddenly occurring to me. "I thought Thor was on our side? I read his file; he saved New Mexico from the Destroyer… From you."

"He is on your side, a foolish choice; he should have left well enough alone." The tricksters fingers twitched in memory, "he wishes to bring me back to Asgard to face judgement."

"They won't let him take yo—" Loki snapped in front of me, his hand gripping my throat tightly.

"You think a group of mortals can prevent either myself or my brother from doing what we wish?" His other hand brushed some hair back from my eyes, to better see the fear in them. "I will prevent my brother from returning me to that place I once called home, and then I will rule this planet." He moved me disturbingly close, "rule you."

Going into panic mode, I did something completely unlike me; I kicked Loki hard in the crouch. Instantly dropped the foot and a half to the ground, I dodged the gods falling body and slid down what I hoped was a far less steep side of the incline.

Rocks slowed my decent, reducing the injuries I could ascertain. At the bottom, I kept running. Or tried to, again I slammed into something metal, only this metal was warm. For a second I gaped, and then blushed at the golden god looking down at me. He flashed me a thousand watt smile and I nearly fainted.

"Greetings human, I am Thor Odinson." His eyes narrowed at something behind me, probably Loki glaring down at us from the cliff. "I hope my brother has not caused to too great a grievance."

"N—no."

Tony walked up behind Thor, his mask popping back.

"You ok Freyja?" I nodded, "sorry to have dropped you off like that with the King of diddle."

I glanced for a second up at Thor, trying to see if he was offended that I was named for an Asgardian. He smiled even wider if that was possible.

"Ah, you are the Technopath. Stark told me of you when we were returning for Loki, speaking of my brother."

Rustling behind us showed Steve dragging Loki over. Something was off about the god's face, he was looking at me with something akin to contemplation.

_He didn't hear Thor call me a Technopath… did he?_

Seeing Loki's look, Tony shoved his head in the other direction. "You don't get to look at her."

I was instantly grateful for Tony. Obviously he had taken it under his wing to watch out for me; nobody had ever done that.

Thor brought my attention back to him. "I understand that you do not like to be touched. So I will simply say I am Thor of Asgard." He clapped his fist over his chest and bowed. "It is an honour to meet one with such power."

_Well if Loki didn't know before, he does now._

"Nice to meet you, I'm Freyja Sold of Australia." Thor smiled widely at this.

_Maybe he likes Australians_.

I didn't have a chance to find out as Natasha arrived with the Quinjet.

…

A short nap later for me, and a no doubt long flight for the others, we were back on the Helicarrier. I enjoyed listening to Thor speak about his world, for a little while at least, his booming voice soothed me. When I had told him about my pet cat being named Thor he seemed delighted. Whereas from the other end of the Jet I heard Loki snort when I mentioned that my pet was a female, Thor didn't seem to mind; he apparently had never seen and cat and was eager to meet one named after him.

Once on the Helicarrier I waited in the Lab with Bruce for Loki to be brought back; the man didn't bother me quite so much anymore. I just didn't want to meet the 'other guy'.

Loki was brought past us by a squadron of SHIELD soldiers; it didn't make me feel any safer.

"Is it just me or did Loki just smirk at us?" asked Bruce.

"I think he wants to be on the ship." I answered. Bruce sent a startled look my way; obviously I was the only one who didn't trust any single move of Loki's.

"Why would he want that?" I shrugged in pretence of indifference.

_Destroy from the inside_.

It seemed a sneaky enough move for Loki to attempt. Glancing at the spear that had been quickly found by Tony in the forest, I decided not to bother with it tonight; I was exhausted even after my nap.

As I wasn't entirely sure how to say I was leaving politely, I just left. Thankfully Bruce didn't try to stop me. Along the way I had to dodge several agents, it was easy; I was good at hiding or pretending to be unimportant.

My room was exactly the way I left it, but I could sense something was off. There were tiny radio signals coming from different spots in my room; obviously S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't entirely trust me, I couldn't blame them. Rather than destroy the bugs I asked them to relay a continuous stream of me doing normal stuff, or speaking nonsense to my cat.

The second I sat at my computer desk Thor jumped onto my lap, her purring letting me know that I had been missed. Scratching her behind the ears I booted up my equipment, which took all of three seconds.

_Please show me where Loki is being kept._

The screen flickered once then showed me a room. Right there in the middle of the room was Loki and he was trapped in a giant glass prison. I felt a twinge of pity for the God, unable to help myself. It must be awful to be trapped so; I had always feared becoming a government project, and now Loki was one.

There was one camera very near to him; it gave me a chance to look at him from a safe distance. Even contained the man looked dangerous. His leather clothes (obviously an Asgardian trait) would have looked foolish on anybody less than him. But because Loki seemed to scream arrogance and vanity, the clothes actually suited, maybe even flattered him.

As if sensing somebody watching, Loki's eyes met mine through the camera. A shot of fire went down my spine, shivers following. His lips curved into a smile, reminding me of a scarecrow. I knew he couldn't possibly know I was watching, but something in the corner of his smile told me otherwise.

I shut down the screens, my mind telling them to before I could really stop myself. Shaking off the foreboding feeling, I moved Thor to her bed (also my bed) and went to grab a change of clothes. The shower could wait. Inside my wardrobes were items I would probably never wear, including a leather cat-suit (courtesy of Natasha) and a vibrant red ball gown. It took a moment but I finally found a flowing cotton skirt, it was a pretty white and ended just above my knees. I grabbed a simple black tank top and some stupid dark green lingerie Ms Potts had brought me. The items didn't exactly match my caramel skin, but I had never cared about such things.

Walking to my en suit bathroom, I shucked out of my clothes, not caring where they landed. The room had a full length mirror; I took a breath before standing in front of it, knowing that while taking in energy stopped the pain, it didn't really stop small injuries. I got an actual fright looking into the mirror; my dark brown hair was hanging around my face instead of covering it and I could see all the bruising on my face and body clearly. Everyplace that Loki touched that spear of his to, had a black and green mark surrounding it. Even touching that area at all caused agony. The two times I was thrown to the ground from the jet had also left marks. My back was a literal colouring book of yellow and blues; even my lip was split and I couldn't even remember being harmed in the face. I was certainly not made for combat.

Deciding that a visit to the medical station might be in order I chucked on my new clothes and went towards the door. I hadn't even opened it properly when I noticed the never-ending amount of people who were walking past it; obviously a new shift was starting. I closed the door again.

_Well, it's not like I'm dying._

I tried resisting going to my computer, but it proved impossible. Quickly sitting down, I opened my Loki page again. Natasha was obviously interviewing him; it almost seemed like she was bargaining with him. I thought it might work before Loki slammed his hand against the glass. The tension in his shoulders was an obvious sign of anger. Natasha then turned around. Loki said something more and she turned back to face him, her face calm. He seemed shocked with what she was saying, when she left he spent some time yelling and slamming his fists into the glass, only stopping when the levers holding it in place started to shake. Suddenly he became calm and looked towards the camera, a smirk clearly on his face. Steeling myself I could recognise one word that came out of his mouth:

"Freyja."

…

I wasn't sure what compelled me but I somehow made my way through throngs of people and stood outside the door to his prison. Gulping, I opened it and looked to where Loki was still in his cage and staring at me.

"I thought you might be listening. It's very bad manners to eavesdrop, little pretender."

I walked slowly into the room, expecting a second Loki to pounce out. When finding none I steeled myself to look at the caged man.

"Why did you say my name?" He smiled and I shivered in fear.

"Because I wanted to talk to you, of course. Why, don't you like me?" He held a hand over his chest like the thought actually hurt him. I stared at him until his smile faltered. "More bad manners. You shouldn't stare at your betters."

I smiled to myself. "You aren't my better."

"No? Did I not destroy an entire S.H.I.E.L.D. base, steal the Tesseract as you call it and then..."

"Get caught." I finished for him, not trying to be annoying, simply truthful. If anything that seemed to irritate him more.

"Be careful my pretender, I would hate to have to harm you."

"You tried that." Frowning I lifted up my top a little to show the bruise. "It didn't work." Loki showed actual surprise when he saw the marks.

"There are more marks aren't there? On your back and thigh. You humans are so weak, it's pitiable." He paused for a second then smiled. "But you're not entirely human are you?"

"Of course I am."

"Oh no. Because technopaths cannot possibly exist from human DNA. Humans who are the biological descendants of monkeys... No, they don't have the power. Somewhere along the way, one of your humans mated with an Asgardian. You are simply pretending to be a human."

I was stunned; something in me was alien.

Loki smiled. "Oh, you didn't know. My brave brother didn't tell you; he must have known. But then he was probably ashamed. I mean, you're an abomination, worse than the humans. You... are... nothing."

I remembered something on Loki that was buried so deep inside the Hub that I doubted even Thor knew the information was out there.

"I know what you are, Loki Laufeyson."

In hindsight it probably wasn't the best thing to say. Loki snarled and slammed his fists against the glass. I immediately felt bad for saying that, especially considering it had brought the usually graceful man to act out in anger.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned that." At my apology the man froze and seemed shocked for a moment.

"Don't you ever tell lies?" He seemed disgusted at the prospect that I didn't.

Shrugging, I answered honestly. "Never really had anybody to lie to."

And it was true; nobody would talk to the weird girl in school and then university, so I only had my dad and we always told the truth.

"Did your government keep you locked up because you're... different?" Was it my imagination or did he seem annoyed at that idea? Strange behaviour considering he had just practically called me the scum of the universe.

"No, people just don't know how to behave around me."

So far I was fitting in well with the other Avengers, probably because they were all strange or brilliant as well. But I hadn't missed the looks the crew gave me; it was the same look as anyplace I went: fear. The kind of that meant they couldn't decide whether to run from me or fight me. In my younger days most people chose beating the crap out of me. Loki nodded then frowned.

"Hold onto the rails."

It didn't even occur to me not to. My fingers wrapped around them and a huge explosion rocked the ship. Sirens flashed around me and I could hear the ship screaming in agony, but that wasn't what scared me, it was Loki's next words.

"About time," his green met my blue eyes, "you can never trust the help."

I knew what he had planned.

Mumbling out a 'no', I bolted towards the lab, praying I wasn't too late. I was about half way there, dodging through throngs of agents, when a roar rent the ship. I froze, having heard the noise on TV and knowing instant fear. Back peddling, I sent out a wish for little Thor to be safe, she was a smart cat and was probably under the bed…where I wished I was

Finding myself back in Loki's prison, I slammed the heavy door behind me. Loki was still in his glass cage, his arms open wide and laughing.

"Come on in, it's possibly the only safe place left on this flying ship of yours."

I was contemplating it when I felt a bolt of pain. Looking down at my shoulder I saw the other end of an arrow poking through it. Dimly I heard Loki yelling at the person who must have shot the arrow; the hiss of a cell door made its way through my mind. The second Loki was free he clicked his finger towards me. The man I now recognized, from his files, as Clint Barton or Hawkeye immediately walked towards me, however instead of finishing the job he clicked something on the side of the arrow and the head fell off. Gripping me around the stomach he ripped the arrow back through the hole. This time I did scream in pain, though the agony didn't distract from something that I could feel; it was the same energy from the spear, and it was inside of Barton; he was being controlled.

Feeling fain from pain I started swaying lightly, I hardly noticed Barton motion towards one of his men. I was hefted into the arms of the faceless solider and taken away; in too much pain to care I was being held. My last image before I blacked out was of Loki splitting himself into two people, and both of them watching me, almost hungrily.


	5. Chapter 5

A loud hammering noise woke me. Startled, I reared up only to stop at the pain in my shoulder. A quick glance affirmed my guess; not only did my shoulder still have a hole in it, but it was untreated. Dark red blood still seeped from it, even though it was clearly trying to heal itself around the edges. The first thing I noticed was the room around me. It was decorated tastefully with a variation of greens and other dark colours. A massive bed took up a small amount of the room, while one side of the wall was dedicated entirely to books. Of course a fireplace was the next thing I noticed and not a small one either; a massive one you would expect to find in an old-style Viking cabin, it had comfortable looking couches around it. There were two doors in the room, one obviously leading to a private bathroom and another which I guessed lead to the rest of the house.

The second thing I noticed was that I was in a literal wooden cage, one that a masked man seemed to be still building around me. The only things in the cage were a few thin blankets on the floor and a toilet built into the corner, which was thankfully hidden behind a privacy screen.

"What do you think of your new home?" I finally noticed Loki and dimly wondered how long he had been there for. "I helped design it myself; it's made entirely of wood. I was also sure that there are absolutely no electrical items in this room, not even a circuit board."

I reached out for a second with my mind, only to find he was telling the truth; the nearest electrical surge I could feel was at least three rooms away. It would be of no assistance.

"Why did you take me?" Loki laughed and hunched down on his legs, just so he could look me in the face from my seated position.

"I have always wanted a pet. And what's better than the offspring of both Asgardian and Human descent?" I fought back the tears, trying to break through and forced myself to look away from the monster's gloating face. "What, nothing to say? And I went to all this trouble for you."

Mind firmly in another place I turned my back. I felt a small surge of energy and realized that Loki must have his spear again. A quick glace over my shoulder confirmed that. Loki saw where my eyes landed.

"Ah yes, my new toy." He fingered it lovingly, "tell me what you felt when I touched this to you? Remember no lies, pet, or I will show you true pain."

Shuddering, I faced the god.

"I felt energy and power, but you're the conductor. It feeds off your hate to gain any real strength; without you it's useless." My monotone voice seemed to worry Loki for a second; I only assumed it was because he didn't want to break me so soon. "Can I please have some bandages?"

He looked amused. "Whatever for?"

I felt his eyes on my wound so I didn't need to wonder why he was refraining from getting me help; he wanted me to suffer. He reminded me of a girl who used to beat on me when I was younger. She was my age and resented me because I was so far above her in intelligence; heck, I was in university and she was still in junior high school. But every time she beat me up she used to watch me moan in pain on the ground afterwards, ignoring all my asking for help. Once I gained the courage to ask her why she liked to watch and she replied: "I want you to feel helpless."

Sighing, I grabbed the blanket beneath me and started tearing it into pieces while Loki just watched. Carefully, I wrapped what I deemed the cleanest side over the wound, hoping it might help keep any nasty infections out of it.

But I was afraid I was already too late; the skin around it was going red and I could feel a faint itching sensation. But rather than show my pain to Loki, I just turned my back again. He laughed and I could hear his footsteps leaving the room.

I glanced behind me to make confirm he was gone; the man building my cage had disappeared. I broke down. Silently, I sobbed into my hands, the pain of my shoulder and fear of my situation causing too many emotions at once. Finally I was too weak to continue even sitting and sunk to the floor, my hand automatically positioning itself so I could have slight cushioning for my head. This time I faced the door, wanting to know if anybody was coming in; there was nothing I hated more than being frightened.

Hours past and I realized that I had never been this alone; I didn't have my cat or machines to talk to. Not to mention I was both starving and thirsty, but it wouldn't surprise me if Loki chose to withhold basics from me.

Finally the man himself entered the room; he didn't even look tired. Without glancing at me Loki walked over to a small table in the corner, a table with only one chair. He waved a hand and the most succulent food I had ever seen appeared on it. Gigantic lobsters with fresh sauce, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and to top it all off there was a massive chocolate cake, one that reminded me of the one from the movie _Matilda_. It took me a second but then it clicked; these were all my favourite foods.

"Stand up." If I could have I probably would have obeyed him, but I was too dang tired and sore.

Loki looked irritated for a second then I felt a small surge of energy. Long fingers wrapped themselves around my arms and hefted me up; I was too weak to fight. Groaning, I looked behind to find another Loki. The fake Loki waved his hand and the door to my cage disappeared.

_If I were an actual Avenger I would totally be escaping right now_.

Instead, I let the other Loki half walk me-half drag me over to the chair near the table. Instead of putting me in it, he dropped me to the floor, almost ensuring that I landing on my shoulder. Letting out a scream, I gripped the wound even though I knew it made it worse.

The real Loki above me scoffed, and then seated himself in the chair. Clicking his fingers once seated. A bowl of watery soup appeared on the ground in front of my, as well as a glass of water. Ignoring the soup I grabbed the glass and drank. Eyes closed in pleasure, I felt some of the water slip down the side of my mouth and onto my top, but I didn't care.

"Hope you enjoy the meal and water, seeing as it's all you will get until tomorrow evening."

Immediately, I stopped swallowing the water, but to my dismay most of the glass was empty. Now I would have to wait until tomorrow to try and clean my wound.

"By all means Freyja, tuck in."

I didn't bother looking at Loki before I picked up my spoon and took a sip. It tasted like half a kilo of salt had been mixed into the food. I shoved it aside and simply sat. All I could hear was the slight clinking of silver on china as Loki ate. Ignoring the pains in my stomach, I finished of my glass of water and dared a glance at the God. He was eating with perfect manners, but then I hadn't expected any less; Loki was nothing if not elegant.

Forcing my gaze away from the food I closed my eyes. The closest energy signature I could feel was coming from Loki so I hesitated towards it. Instantly I felt agony; hissing through my teeth I opened my eyes. Loki was looking at me with an amused expression.

"You really must stop doing that. I would hate for you to injure yourself." I restrained myself from snorting, settling for rolling my eyes. "Ah, so the emotionless girl actually has spark, how delightful. I was beginning to think that you were already broken. But then that wouldn't surprise me, considering your past." My eyes flicked worriedly towards him.

_He can't know everything_.

Loki, never to miss a beat, instantly noticed my discomfort. "I take it you didn't know that SHIELD kept an entire folder on you? It was one of the bigger ones that I read." I hated the delight he was gaining from this. "So what should I start with? Perhaps how you are the sole reason that _both_ of your parents are dead. Maybe how you bravely became an outcast for the purpose of joining a university at eight. My favourite though, is the reason why at sixteen you burnt down your old home and why there were several male bodies found in your bedroom... Midgardian whore."

"STOP!" screaming I stood, hands thumping on the table across from him. Loki wasn't what I was seeing; all I could feel were rough fingers and putrid breath. Then I could see only melting skin, and hear only screams. They were deafening.

Something in me snapped, and I launched myself at Loki. The first time I had willingly touched anybody in years. He was caught by surprise, my body brining both of ours to the floor. His armour dug into my bared legs, slicing everywhere it touched. Fist slamming into Loki's face, I had the momentary satisfaction of seeing a slither of blood on his lip, before it healed. I went for another shot, Loki's hand wrapped itself around mine, and crushing it with strength I couldn't match. Adrenalin filled I scratched down his face with my other hand, getting a pained howl in return. The blood edged me on, I was no longer seeing a god, I was seeing the men who had laughed at my vulnerability and taken advantage.

Before I could attack again, the body beneath me roared in anger and tossed me away. I landed hard and was quickly covered by a body, my wrists were held above my head and legs kept far apart by a lithe waist.

"You dare strike a god!?" A furious voice broke through my mind, casting away the memory as quickly as anything could. Loki had red lines on his face from where I had slashed him; I said the only thing I could.

"You dare speak of that night!" Exhaustion was setting in, and the pain from my shoulder making itself known again, I slumped even lower to the ground. Closing my eyes I tried to get it into my mind that this was Loki, not those men. I didn't even notice sobbing-'please get off of me, don't'- under my breath. Finally sanity returned, but I didn't dare open my eyes to face the fury of a god.

Loki shifted above me; I had never been this close to a person before and tried to ignore the feel of a body pressed so intimately against me.

"I had assumed you invited those men into your room, and destroyed them when your lust became too much, I was mistaken." I looked up at the god; he seemed sincere in his 'not' an apology.

My head fell to the side, "please get off of me." He complied.

Standing, Loki looked down at me for a moment before sighing. I didn't protest when he lifted me into his arms, my mind was too foggy to really notice. I knew where he was taking me; a whimper left my lips but didn't stop him. More carefully then I would have imagined, Loki set me into my makeshift bed, not bothering with a blanket; we both knew it would be more hassle then anything.

He left without word or sound, simply there one second and then not. Before I drifted off I did hear the cell door lock slid shut, I knew it had been ensured to make a loud noise, to bring home the point that I was merely a captive. Loki's captive.

…

I awoke feeling hotter than I could ever remember. My throat was swollen beyond true speech, and my eyes were stinging hot. I could feel the cuts that I sustained from Loki's armour burning. When I raised my arm to have a look at my shoulder, I nearly screamed in pain at the slight movement my makeshift bandage made.

"Loki," my voice croak, not even disrupting the air in the room.

Panting I moved my head to better see the room. No God was in sight, but the covers on the bed where he must have slept the night were yet to be made. I had hope that a maid or something might come in, but to my dismay after waiting for an unknown amount of time, the bed actually made itself. I was desperate enough to try and drink from the toilet, but when I tried to move my entire body burned with pain.

Moaning I lay still. The only water I had left trailed down my cheeks in tears that I couldn't stop. I had no idea how long I laid there before I finally heard somebody enter the room. Loki's voice ran out in a curse and he stormed over to the cage.

"Stupid human, why didn't you inform me you were ill?"

_Of course, blame it on me_.

He opened his mouth and called for a helper. An unknown man entered, his eyes were an unnatural blue and they didn't even glance my way.

"How do I heal a sick human?" Loki demanded.

The man finally looked at me and followed Loki into the cage. With impersonal hands the man ripped off the bandage around my shoulder, and again I heard the god curse. The man went to touch the wound and I whimpered, shielding away as I knew it would hurt.

"Do not touch her." My fevered eyes looked at Loki in shock; he also seemed surprised at his words. "Just tell me what ails her."

The man stood in a salute and answered, "She is suffering from an infection. It has festered into a fever and will undoubtedly kill her in the next day or so if it remains untreated." Loki nodded and looked back down at me.

"Can you heal her?" The solider nodded.

"I will need to find some antibiotics to stop the infection. Until then she will require constant temperature checking."

"What is this, 'temperature checking'?"

"She must be kept cold, sir." The man clipped his heels and awaited command.

"Go fetch these antibiotics. I will keep her cool," commanded Loki.

The man nodded and left. Hands reached towards me; startled, I flinched back. Loki growled, muttering 'stubborn human', under his breath before lifting me into his arms again. Instantly I felt my body cool down, unable to stop myself I latched onto the man. He made a sound of annoyance before walking towards one of the doors.

"If I am required to keep you cool, it will be easier if you shower first."

Loki entered the bathroom I had never been in, and made to place me down. Refusing to release him, I burrowed my head further into his neck. "You are more trouble than you are worth; I should kill you now and be done."

I didn't respond; too busy absorbing all the freezing energy I could. My clothes melted away and I found myself naked, in the arms of an equally naked Loki. Still having some sense I yelped and kicked my legs slightly, though it didn't do much good. He simply tightened his arms around me.

_Ohh, he is so cold_.

The warmth of my body snuck up on me again. Seconds later I was back to holding myself as close to Loki as possible. He made a few more steps then stopped. Afraid he was going to try and drop me I held on tighter. Sighing in annoyance Loki muttered a few words and cold water suddenly hit us. My body reacted naturally and goosebumps appeared, my nipples tightening against his chest, thankfully I was too sick to care. I felt a finger trace along my arm; I knew he was noticing the bumps all over my body.

"What are these?" questioned the God.

He was making me feel better, so deserved a reward. "They are called Goosebumps, humans get them when we are cold," my voice a weak mummer. And while my body might be responding outwardly to the chill, inside I was boiling. "Can you make it colder, please?"

Loki said a few words under his breath, and the temperature dropped again, but it wasn't enough. It seemed only the parts of me touching the trickster were truly cold, I would have moved closer but Loki shut off the shower and hopped out. Groaning in protest, a hand desperately tried to reach for the glass side of the shower, but missed. Loki pried me off of him, I slumped to the ground.

Lying naked on my back I stared at the god above me, my mind not even noticing his likewise state of undress. He grabbed a towel from a nearby rack and threw it on my body; my arms wouldn't move to dry myself. Loki looked down with a sneer. "Truly pathetic."

I whimpered and my eyes started leaking again. I fully expected Loki to leave me on the bathroom floor but instead he leaned down. Breathing through my nose in panic, I tried not to scream as he roughly wiped the excess water off me.

"Would you rather I get one of my men to do this?" His voice was ripe with mocking; we both knew that while I hated him at least he was more familiar then his men.

"No." My voice croaked painfully and I winced.

When Loki reached the wound on my shoulder he cleaned around it slowly, but despite his efforts I still hissed at the bite of it. When I was deemed acceptably clean, Loki lifted me into his arms again and the iciness of his skin sunk into me. Sighing I wrapped my arms around his chest and pressed closer. This time he made a strange strangled noise but I ignored it.

Loki stopped moving. I fully expected to be placed back onto my cage floor and braced myself. Instead the softest sheets I had ever felt enveloped me and I realized that I was in his bed. My shock showed because I actually released the God, instantly regretting it when my body began heating up again. Loki clicked his fingers and he was instantly dressed in just a pair of long dark green silk pants. He didn't bother putting clothes on me; probably knew I would just tear them off in a bid to cool down.

"Sir." The man from before had returned.

I didn't bother pulling a sheet over myself, too tender to do so. Instead Loki waved his hand and it tossed itself over me but I instantly tried to yank it off. Sighing, he made the posters around the bed close instead. I could still hear everything though.

"Did you acquire the antibiotics?"

"Yes sir." I heard the tell-tale noise of pills being shaken in cardboard.

"What else will be required, food and water?"

"Yes sir, a type of broth would be best and give her small amounts of water."

"Very well, bring me both those things." I heard the solider clip his heals and walk away, the curtains were swept opened again.

Loki looked down at me with an unreadable expression. His spear materialized in his hand; I stared blankly into the gods eyes.

"I should kill you." I laughed at his words. Loki seemed surprised for a second, as he had probably never seen me smile.

"You tried that... A lot."

The first true smile I had seen crossed his lips, "True."

He dropped the spear but it disappeared before hitting the ground.

_Probably to some treasure room_.

Moving slowly Loki reached for something on the bedside table, a very thin and sharp looking dagger. Rather than struggle uselessly I bared my throat; I would rather he kill me cleanly then make me suffer. He placed it lightly against my throat; nary had a single emotion graced his face. It was so sharp I felt the bite of it instantly, followed by a warm fluid going down my neck. Blood.

Eyes followed the red trail, and then the dagger was removed. Emotionless he placed the knife back in its spot and turned towards the door.

In a backwards part of my mind I felt relief, but at the moment I was too busy watching the muscles on Loki's back as he turned, he had certain sleekness about him… like a cat, or a snake.

The solider from before appeared at the door with food and water, which Loki took from him before making the door close it his face. Walking back towards me, with a smirk on his face at the trick, Loki placed the food on the mostly empty bed side table. He passed me the packet of antibiotics; I had taken them before on occasion so knew how they worked. I was barely able to open the packet and pop one into my mouth before exhaustion took over. I looked longingly at the glass of water, but before I could ask for a sip I found myself somehow suspended slightly in the air. The pillows from the other side of the bed appeared under my head. I was lowered slowly onto them, and this new slightly elevated head position allowed me to look around more. Loki placed the glass of water at my mouth, only allowing me to take small sips and when he deemed I had enough he took it away. I felt like punching him in that moment, but wasn't given a chance as next he moved the bowl of soup to my lips. Rather than swallow though I coughed, Loki growled in disgust as some of it got onto his nice bed.

_Sorry bed…_

Thinking he would realize I wasn't able to feed myself at the moment, I was surprised when he brought the soup to his own mouth rather than spoon feed me.

_Guess he doesn't like food to go to waste, besides, spoon feeding is far to intimate. _

He didn't swallow though, instead his mouth met mine. In shock mine opened a little, the soup slowly trickled inside. Soon instinct took over and I let the delicious broth slid directly down my throat, not giving it a change to slip down and out of my mouth. All too soon that mouthful was done, Loki lingered a moment before moving back. Meowing pathetically, I tried to reach for the soup, starved beyond belief.

"Patience pet," chided Loki.

He took another mouthful of my meal and moved over me again, this time I found the strength to meet him half way. My mouth already open this time, it slid right down.

Loki repeated our strange dance several times before the bowl was empty, and I was full. Before I could relax though, the heat started seeping in again.

"…hot…" moaning I curled into a ball, the sheets beneath me already soaked with sweat.

Reaching I grabbed for Loki's arm, I had little strength so knew when I pulled on it he came willingly. He lay on the bed next to me for a second, and then I was on him, curled around the freezing god like a dying man clung to life. He was as stiff as a board, acting how I knew I would if somebody were to wrap themselves around me.

"I—I'm sorry," I felt Loki look down at me at my words. Leaning my head on his chest, I looked him in the eye.

_Even lying down he seems giant…_

He nodded, acknowledging that I couldn't help what was wrong with me. He would never admit to it being his fault.

_Wait a moment?! _

"Giant…" his brow furrowed, "you're a Frost Giant… please…so warm." My vision started to get hazy, but one would have to be blind not to notice the transformation.

Beneath me every inch of Loki's skin slowly faded to dark blue, a beautiful blue. His forest green eyes became red, and ridged dots that looked to be making patterns started rising up everywhere.

In my delirium I smiled, "pretty", tracing a finger along a particularly twisted pattern.

Eyes widened in disbelief, Loki sneered "you're delirious."

My laugh came out all throaty. "Not drunk, never really been... except with Tony."

Loki gripped my chin, he looked angry, "who is this 'Tony'?"

Sighing I nestled his hand, the freezing temperature soothing. "Stark... Tony Stark."

"He will learn not to touch my things." Scoffing I threw a leg over Loki's waist, purely a move to get colder, but his body stiffened up again.

"He didn't... touch me. I killed the ones who did." This time the memory didn't make me sad. I was numb to all emotions except bliss. Loki relaxed underneath me, the hand that had been gripping my chin relaxing and moving to span my cheek.

"Who were the ones who hurt you?" I shuddered at the question, but answered anyway.

"Never knew... I recognized only one; he worked with my father. He seemed so... nice… but he saw me."

"Saw you what?" My mind was becoming slightly fuzzy, but I held on.

"He saw me use a computer without touching it. I scared him."

Loki tightened his hold on my waist and growled low in his throat, "Only in mankind would you find one willing to harm a youngling like that."

I realized then that I had given him more fodder to hate my kind with.

_Bad Freyja_.

Obviously he sensed my being upset because he ran his hand up and down my back; the cool soothing sensation had me relaxing in seconds.

"You hurt me, Loki." He didn't respond. "Besides, I wasn't so young."

"This was a mere two years ago, yes?" I nodded against his chest, my breath ghosting across black nipples. "Then you were young. They are the reason you hate to be touched."

I didn't bother responding, he already knew the answer. And we both knew I was only wrapped around him out of desperation, not actual want or desire.

"I will ensure that you become used to my touch," the god ran his hand down the ridges of my spine.

I froze, "why?"

"I find I enjoy touching you, so you will adjust to me." I almost smiled at the certain and arrogant tone in his voice.

"You want to have a half-breed abomination touching you?" I threw his own words back at him, he considered for a moment.

"You touch your pets, do you not?" I nodded against his skin; I missed my girl Thor so much in that moment.

"Then as my pet, I have the right to touch you."

_I should be angry right now... Effort.._.

"I am not something that you can own, Loki. I don't want to be owned and live in a cage."

Loki lowered his head to rest on mine and I felt him smile against it. "You are part human, so you crave subjugation."

"Well you claimed I am part Asgardian, so I crave freedom." He laughed against me. With one finger I was unwittingly tracing the tattoo patterns on his chest.

"It will make for an interesting mix, don't you think?" I knew he wasn't joking.

Smiling sadly, I answered "When I am better, Loki, I won't let you hold me like this, or even come near me probably."

The arm around my waist tightened, bringing my body further onto his.

"I won't allow you a choice, my little half breed."

_Oh great, he named me_.

I shook my head, trying to clear the cobwebs in my brain, but it didn't work. Slowly I drifted off, Loki's freezing skin finally keeping the fever away long enough for my body to start healing.


End file.
